The Truth
by FanFictioner2014
Summary: We all remember the words Lt. Surge said. "You won't last long in combat kid. Tell you what, electric Pokemon saved my life in the war!" Some of us may have just brushed it off. But now, it's time to expose the truth behind those words. Rated M for violence and harsh language


**The Truth**

It was just a bit after noon, and Red was lacing up his shoes. The sun was shining, the day was still young, and he was finally ready to claim his very first Pokémon as his own. He knew that his rival Green, the grandson of Professor Oak (the one responsible for handing out starters to new trainers), would already be waiting out in the lab.

'Well then,' he thought to himself. 'It's time. I'm finally 16 which means I can get my Pokémon license. Sure, most 16 year olds get a car and their driver's license. But hey, I figured that being a Pokémon trainer would be way cooler.'

He picked up his bag from next to the bed, pulled his hat over his mess of dark brown hair, and went to walk out of the room. As he did though, a picture on the corner of his dresser happened to catch his eye. It was a picture of his mom, Jane, almost exactly 16 years younger. She was still pregnant with young Red, and standing next to her, a mess of dark brown hair and reddish-brown eyes, just like his sons, was Red's father, Ashton.

Red stared at that picture a few moments, choking back tears. "Dad," He mumbles under his breath, "I'm going to make you proud. I promise." With that, he made sure his running shoes were laced up tightly, then threw on his backpack and walked down the stairs.

As he reached the bottom his mom looked up at him. She turned to smile and say high, but instantly her breath caught in her throat. "As- Ash- Ashton?" She managed to choke out.

Red gave her a puzzled look, "No mom, it's me. Red? Dad is… Dad's gone…"

"I know son. I know. It's just when you came down the stairs, you looked so much like him when we first met. Wow, hard to believe that was 25 years ago that I met your father. He was on his journey. He had actually just came in to Kanto from the Hoen region in fact. And I was volunteering at the Pokémon Center in Celadon at the time. We talked for a while, but he was in a hurry. Off to the next town. The next gym. A Pokémon trainer's life is always a busy one. It wasn't long before I began my own journey. And then…"

She trailed off as a dark memory passed through her mind. For years he had been asking her why she always cried whenever she thought about that memory. He knew his father was dead but she would never tell him what happened. She would always just brush it off and say, "Maybe someday I'll explain. But for now, just know that you're father was a great man Red. And that he would be proud of you."

"It's okay mom. But hey, I have to get going before I'm late! I love you! Bye!" Red hollered as he ran out of the house and off to Professor Oak's, briefly wondering what the Hoen region is like and if there were any different species of Pokémon there. Jane looked out the door as she watched her son run off, a small tear running down her cheek.

'Bye son, be careful out there.' She thought to herself.

Red kept running down the short path that led to the rest of Pallet Town. It was a small town and there wasn't much to see really. Just the house where his best friend and rival, Green, lived with his sister and Grandfather. Then there was the small grocery store and the other neighbors. Pallet Town was more of a retirement town than anything else. He and his rival were just kids. And everyone else around was old. Except strangely the women. There were a few young women around but not very many. He started to wonder why there were so few women, until he went flying and landed in the dirt.

Red looked up as a shadow fell over him. Standing above him with his usual arrogant smirk, was none other than his rival Green. Green smirked down at him, "Ya know, you may be a rookie and all, but even you should know to watch where you're going."

Red jumped up and screamed, "You bastard you tripped me! I wouldn't have fallen over if you hadn't tripped me! And don't call me a rookie! You're a beginning trainer too!"

"No I didn't you dumbass! You didn't tie your shoes up tight enough!"

"Whatever! I made sure I tied them extra tight before I left my house!"

The ensuing argument proceeded onwards like this for several minutes with both pushing their heads back forth against each other in large chibi head style. The fight only ended after they looked at each other and realized, Professor Oak still had yet to arrive.

"Hey dumbass, where's your grandfather at?" Red yelled.

"How the hell should I know you idiot?"

"Maybe because he's your Grandfather!"

"So?"

"ENOUGH!"

The two boys jumped as they heard Oak's voice yell at them. They turned and looked as the old professor walked towards them. "I go off for a couple hours to conduct some research and make sure the starter Pokémon were ready, under the assumption that the two of you would be able to wait patiently for my arrival. And I arrive and the two of you are fighting like children?! What am I going to do with the two of you?"

The two boys bowed before Professor Oak. "We're sorry sir," they said together. "We didn't mean to fight. We'll be more mature from now on. We promise."

The professor merely bowed his head and proceeded to unlock the door. "Just come in you two. I have a favor that I need to ask of you." The boys quickly followed the professor inside as he led them to a long table with three Poke Balls resting on it.

"Boys," Oak began, "As I'm sure the two of you know, when you turn sixteen you are allowed to select a Pokémon companion. Now then, before you are the three starters: Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. Now then, which one of you would like to choose first?"

Green looked at Red and said, "Hey, how about you choose first? Yesterday was your birthday so how about you choose first?" 'That and then I can choose the one that your Pokémon is weak against and take advantage of its weakness.' Green thought to himself.

Red smiled widely at him. "Thanks Green! I appreciate it!" He walked up to the table and noticed that each Poke Ball was marked with a sticker. One had a flame on it for Charmander, one had a water drop on it for Squirtle, and the last had a leaf on it for Bulbasaur.

Red stared at them for a few moments before he finally declared, "Well, my father named me Red because of the color of our eyes. And from what my mother told me, his favorite type was fire types. So I'm going to honor my father and choose Charmander!" He picked it up and threw it in the air and watched as a flash of Red-White light flashed out of the Poke Ball. Soon the light took form and Red's grin grew as he saw the orange lizard-like Pokémon standing next to him.

"Char! Char char!" Charmander declared, his grin just as wide as his new owners.

Professor Oak turned to Green and said, "So Green, are you going to choose Bulbasaur because your father named you Green?"

Green chuckled and walked up to the table. "Naw Gramps. I was thinking hard about my starter all night. And I'm not going to choose my Pokémon on such stupid sentimental reasons like that."

He picked up the Poke Ball with the water drop and said, "No, I will choose my starter based on which one will give me the biggest advantage. So I choose, Squirtle!"

Green threw his Poke Ball into the air and soon his Pokémon appeared at his side.

"Squirtle squirt!" The little turtle bubbled.

"So," Oak announced. "Fire and water eh? Well Red, looks like you're going to have to train hard if you want to be able to beat Green since he has the type advantage."

"Oh well!" Red announced, a fierce fire burning in his eyes. "I know I can do it! I'm going to become a great trainer just like my father one day! You just wait! I'll be just like him!"

Oak bowed his head for a moment, 'I sincerely hope not, young Red.' The professor thought darkly. He looked up just in time to see Red and Charmander running off. "Red wait! I have a favor I need to ask you two!"

Red turned around quickly and went to speak but Green beat him to the punch. "What is it now Gramps? I wanted to challenge Red to a battle so we could check out our Pokémon!"

"Just wait a minute Green!" The Professor sighed. "There will be plenty of time for battling later. Here, I wanted to give you two this." The professor reached into a drawer behind him and pulled out two small red devices. They were about the size of a calculator and had a small camera lens on the back similar to that of an iPhones.

"What is it Professor?" Red asked, his voice dripping with curiosity.

"These boys, are Pokédexes. Whenever you catch a Pokémon, this device will automatically record data on them. A long time ago there were many of these devices and we had data on hundreds of Pokémon. Unfortunately a short time ago, that data was lost. So now I would like you kids to re-gather all that information so scientists like me can continue on with our Pokémon research. Are you boys up to the task?"

Red raised his fist in a determined stance and said, "Of course Professor! It would be an honor to help you!"

Green just shrugged and said, "Eh, shouldn't be too much of a pain in the ass to do."

The professor handed them both their Pokédexes and five Poke Balls. "You'll need these to capture them as well boys. Now go out there and make this man proud!"

Red turned to run again but stopped as soon as he heard a shout. "Red wait! Let's battle real fast and get to know our Pokémon!"

"Sure Green let's do it!"

The boys ran outside and stood in the large field behind the lab facing each other.

"Charmander! "

"Squirtle! "

"I CHOOSE YOU!"

The two trainers and their Pokémon stared each other down. All waiting, to see who would make the first move.


End file.
